Golden Fox awakened before anyone in the camp stirred, and silently prowled around the edge of the camp and out into the grasslands. A short walk took her to the top of a knoll, where she settled in the tall grasses and gazed out at the rolling land. Sister Moon’s round face spilled so much light that she could easily see the black river of humpbacks that flowed slowly in the distance.

Thoughts floated about her, about what her mother said, until Father Sun peeked over the edge of the land and pushed the darkness back. The sky bled from black to dove gray to a sharp blue. As Golden Fox sang her prayers to the Great Mystery, a peace filled her heart. Whether these people accepted her or not, those who had followed Grandfather did not care about her gold-red hair or her green eyes.

By the time she returned to her mother’s cooking fire, Grandfather sat cross-legged eating his first food after greeting Father Sun. The tunic he wore was one that Sun Rising had grabbed out of their burning lodge. Mother had painted dark grey clouds with yellow lightning that shot out and vanished off the fringed bottom. The clouds hid the few black spots from the hot embers.

As she sat across from Eagle Thunder and ate, she watched her mother mix medicines for those who were getting better from the poisoned water sickness, but still were not strong. Sky Bird took whatever she found and made something better from it—like Grandfather’s partly burned tunic, and the plants she made into medicines. Golden Fox had never before considered her mother’s work in that light.

She finished her first food and got to her feet.

Sky Bird carried a bowl of her healing broth toward the lodge where the sick ones slept. “Golden Fox, we need wood.”

“I will gather it, Mother.” She cleaned her bowl and stacked it inside of Eagle Thunder’s cleaned bowl. She would have to go farther to find wood, as they had already used the lower, dry branches of the nearby trees.

She scanned the ground, considering what she had overheard her grandfather and her mother talking about as she neared the fire this sunrise.

“Dances In Storms and Floating Cloud want to leave in a few sunrises. Sun Rising and I agree this would be good. Stands His Ground says this place would be hard to defend from hairy-faces if they still hunt Golden Fox and you.

“If we can wait four more sunrises, I think even the weakest will be able to travel on drags. They have passed through the time when they must fight hard against bad Spirits in the poisoned water. It will be sad to leave this place. We have the empty lodges of fourteen of our relatives, who lie bundled in the trees. No one will be here to Sing for them when the seasons turn.

“No one Sings for those we left behind in the trees of the Sun People. Our relatives understand this is something we must do if we are to survive as a People.”

They must have heard her feet shuffling over the ground then, because they ceased their talk.

Even with Father Sun warming her back, Golden Fox shivered. How could Yellow Moon think she saw the Great Mystery with that poison in her stomach? I wonder if Mother drank the poisoned water when she lived with my father in the wooden lodge?

She bent and picked up wood as her mind filled with sadness. More than fifteen winters have passed since father threw mother away. When I asked if she missed him, she asked how she could miss a man who was hardly ever there. Even before he threw her away, he left for moons at a time, claiming that he hunted. Who hunts for so long when there are many deer and humpbacks everywhere in the warm season? Perhaps, he hunted so he would not have to look at mother’s grey eyes, or my gold-red hair and green eyes, in a face that is brown. Even among the hairy-faces, I do not belong.

She gazed blankly across the grasses. “Am I to be an outcast among all Peoples? I see the young men stare, but no one approaches me. Am I that ugly, even to these new people? I saw in Mother’s eyes that she prays this is not so. For her sake, I, too, hope these people are different. Yet, I fear they may not be.”

A mother fox and her four young ones peered out from an underground hole. The entrance would have been hard to see behind the large stones and the low growing shrub whose berries had started to turn red, if Golden Fox had not seen the bright, black eyes watching her.

“Why would you be an outcast?”

Her eyes widened. “Fox?”

A voice snorted from behind her. “I am White Elk, not Fox.”

“I said that out loud?” Heat climbed up her face. “I thought Fox spoke to me.” Slowly, she turned, not wanting to face whoever was behind her.

A young man sat tall on a prancing mustang with tan hair.

Her mouth dropped open with surprise, and the wood in her arms fell to the ground. “You... your skin is as white as snow! Your... .eyes....” She ran out of words and simply stared.

A grin spread across the young man’s face. “Yes, I know. My skin is pale as snow on the mountains in the cold season, and my eyes look red, but sometimes they look blue as the sky. My mother told me they change with the light. And, my hair is the color of a drifting cloud that carries no rain.”

“Are... are there....” All of a sudden, shame stole her words. She was treating this young man as others had treated her—like some strange animal, instead of just another one of the People.

I hate that! Her head dropped to her chest. How can I face him?

The stranger’s next words fell onto Golden Fox as soft as a light rain. “Do not feel as if you have hurt me. Many people I have met since I left my people have asked these questions. It is only as it should be when we are faced with someone who, at first, appears so different from us.”

His words soothed some of the heat from her face and she looked up. “Where do your people live?”

He slid from his mustang and approached her, but no closer than was proper for a young man with a young woman he did not know. “Our land is where sky beads are found. It gets very hot. Among my people, I am not so odd. Grandmother had skin as mine. Though not many look as Grandmother and I do, our ancestors looked much like us.”

He cocked his head. “We are not feared. No one sees us as outcasts. Dances In Storms’ people have never treated me as an outcast. Are your people so afraid of people who look different that they make you feel like an outcast?”

She backed away, feeling as if he already knew too much. “I did not see you with Dances In Storms’ people when they came into camp.”

“I came later with the hunters. We brought ground birds to add to the cooking fires.”

“Why are you with Dances In Storms’ people? Do you follow a special woman?”

A warm chuckle bubbled up from his chest. “It is hard to follow a woman.” He shrugged. “I wished to travel, to see the lands of other Peoples.” He looked away, and then back to her.

Seeing White Elk struggle with words that wanted to hide behind his teeth, Golden Fox stepped forward and placed a hand on his forearm. “What is it that you are trying to share?”

“You would laugh if I said.”

There rose inside of Golden Fox a feeling that she needed to hear what this strange young man was trying to say. “I promise, I will not laugh. You are safe to speak your heart to me.”

Red eyes stared into hers. “Promise you will not run away? No matter what you hear?”

When she hesitated to agree, he rushed to add, “I promise, it is not a bad thing that I need to share, and I would never hurt you, Golden Fox.”

She jerked back and rested her hand on her knife. “I did not tell you my name.”

Hands raised in surrender, White Elk backed away. “I am far enough away now that you can take your hand from the hilt of your knife. I mean you no harm.” His chest rose and fell as he breathed deeply. “How I know your name is part of what I need to share with you. Will you hear me?”

For a long span, neither one moved. Eyes locked with his, Golden Fox carefully considered his words.

White Elk did not fidget, but kept still, letting her decide.

Slowly, she removed her hand from her knife. “I will listen, but do not come any closer.”

He bobbed his head in understanding. “I am many things, but I am no dreamer. Yet, the night that I had my Manhood Ceremony, I dreamed.” He licked his lips and swallowed. “I... I dreamed of a young girl. She danced barefoot in the light of Sister Moon. Though she sang a beautiful song, I could feel the loneliness in her heart. It hurt me so much that tears sprang to my eyes. At last, she stopped dancing and sat upon the ground. A voice called to her. She stood and walked out of the forest. I believed that I dreamed the dream of a boy becoming a man. What boy on the night of his manhood would not dream of a beautiful woman?”

Face turned down, he shuffled his feet and spoke to the ground. “Two cycles of seasons went by before she came into my dream again. This time, an elder woman spoke to me. She told me that I was to leave my people and travel to find this woman. This young woman would become a part of my life for as long as I walked our Mother. My heart jumped in my chest in happiness. What man would turn away from such a foretelling? I would have a beautiful woman with gold-red hair that flowed over her shoulders, and eyes as green as the first grasses after the cold season. The elder told me that her name was Golden Fox.”

He lifted his head and stepped toward her. “I travel with Dances In Storms so I might find you, Golden Fox.”

When he halted, he stood so close that she felt the heat from his skin. Her eyes wandered over his body, though her mother had taught her better manners than to act that way. Her fingers ached to touch his skin, to comb through his long, snow-white hair. It shimmered in Father Sun’s light, looking almost blue. Now that he stood so close, she could see that blue ringed the reddish color in the center of his eyes—not the blue she saw in her mother’s eyes, but a blue like the sky. The muscles of his bare chest rippled when he moved. Strands of blue-green sky beads dangled from his neck, reaching all the way to the top of his breechclout.

“Sweet one....”

Golden Fox shoved away from the stranger. Her breath hitched in her throat and her hands shook from wanting to touch him. Her legs moved in jerky motions as she hurried to put distance between them. “You should not call me such. It is not acceptable until... until....”

“Until what? Until I speak with your grandfather?” White Elk had not moved from where she had left him.

Cheeks blazing with heat, Golden Fox grabbed at the wood she had dropped. “You cannot speak to my grandfather! We have not... we just.... Eerrr! I do not know you. Now, go away. I have work to do.” She snatched a few more pieces from the ground, then rushed toward camp.

When she reached their cooking fire, Eagle Thunder, Sun Rising, Stands His Ground, Blazing Fire, and warriors from Dances In Storms’ people sat around the fire circle talking. It would be impolite to hang around the warriors talking, so she stacked the wood quickly, then hurried to where their sleeping robes lay. With no one else there, she flopped back and stared up at the pale blue sky—the same pale blue as the rings around White Elk’s eyes. A tingly feeling settled between her thighs and butterflies fluttered in her belly.

She sighed and sat up. No boys in the Sun People’s band, even when they did notice her, had ever called her beautiful.

Why does White Elk think me beautiful? The people I grew up with did not think me so. Not even my own father thought me good enough to look at.

She did not remember much about him, but she remembered one day when he came home while she was playing. He yelled at Mother and told her to get out of his way, and to take that ugly child with her. When she asked Mother about this, Sky Bird said her father said crazy things when he had a belly full of poisoned water. They never spoke of it again, but she always wondered if he said that because of the poisoned water, or because he really saw her as an ugly child.

Sky Bird made her way to the robes carrying two bowls of food. She handed one to Golden Fox, then settled next to her and began to eat.

The first taste of the tender meat made Golden Fox’s stomach growl in anticipation. “These are not our bowls.” She scooped a bite of tubers into her mouth. The juicy plant mixed its sweetness with the saltiness of the meat. The carved zig-zag design on the bowl was nothing like she had ever seen.

Her mother smiled. “A woman from Dances In Storms’ people walked up to me and handed me four bowls like these.” Sky Bird lifted the bowl to admire the design before she continued eating. Between bites, she told Golden Fox about the woman’s gift. “I told her I had nothing to trade. She laughed with a sweet laugh and said they were her gift to her new sister-friend.”

Dog trotted up and loudly threw herself to the ground beside Golden Fox. With a giggle, she handed the animal a piece of meat. “You are such a silly one, Blue Spirit Dog.”

Brows lifted high, Sky Bird dipped the last of the food from her bowl, chewed, and swallowed. “Blue Spirit Dog?”

“Yes, for the blue in her eyes—the blue of Spirit.”

Sky Bird leaned closer to Blue Spirit Dog, gazed into his eyes, and after a short span, sat back and shook her head. “Her eyes are brown, the same as the eyes of most dogs.”

Golden Fox stared into the dog’s eyes before she turned to her mother. “You truly do not see the blue in her eyes? It is a circle around the brown color. Sometimes, her eyes turn all blue, but mostly there is only this circle.”

“Daughter, I cannot see this blue you speak of, but I have heard about it. No, not with Blue Spirit Dog—from my mother. It is the blue of the Spirit Land. Not all people are gifted to see it. How long have you seen this blue?”

“Since... since my dream of Shining Light.”

“Ah, the Great Holy Man. How I wish to dream of him.” Her mother’s eyes showed a faraway look of longing. She blinked and the look disappeared. “You are blessed, Daughter, to meet the Great Holy Man, and now to see the blue of the Spirit Land. I have always known you would have great Power someday.”

“Power? I have no Power, Mother!” She waved her hand in front of her face when it seemed her mother would continue to speak of Power. Without thinking, she blurted, “I met a man as pale as snow.”

“Ahh. Where did you meet this man?” Worry clung to Sky Bird’s words.

“Do not be concerned, Mother. He travels with Dances In Storms’ people. I met him when I went to gather wood.”

“You say his skin is as pale as snow? Are you sure? Perhaps, it was the way Father Sun shone on his body that made him seem so pale.”

“No, Mother, he was born with white skin and white hair, and eyes that are blue, and then sometimes red.”

“It is not proper for a young woman to walk alone with a man who has not spoken to her grandfather. Your grandfather would tell me if this had happened.” She firmed her mouth into a stern line and crossed her arms, in the way that clearly said this is not acceptable.

“He did not mean to be impolite, Mother. It... he was riding and just happened to ride where I gathered wood. He has no interest in me that would make it proper for him to speak to Grandfather.”

Sky Bird opened her mouth to speak, but the harsh voice of a man sounded from the trees behind them, cutting her short.

“When we find this girl of the Sun People, the hairy-faces will give us long knives and much firewater.”

A second man, with the voice of one who yelled too much, spoke. “If we find this girl. I begin to think she exists only in someone’s crazy mind.”

“I tell you, I saw such a girl with gold-red hair. I know I did,” the first man argued.

“Well, where is she?” The second man barked a sharp laugh. “I do not see her. Perhaps, this girl you saw wore a fox skin around her hair. Who knows what these savages might do. Unlike us, they were born wild and know nothing, act as if animals speak to them, as if even the land is alive. Our fathers were smart hairy-faces. We are better than animals and the dirt we walk on.”

The other man grumbled. “That was no fox fur. She has to be here somewhere. We just have to keep looking.”

“I thought you said you were a good tracker. I am starting to think you could not track a brown rabbit through the snow, much less this girl.” Rude laughter sputtered from the man. “I have seen no girl with gold-red hair. I have seen no woman with grey eyes and hair the color of mud. We waste our time among these savages. I tell you—”

The sounds of a scuffle reached Golden Fox.

“Whoa!” The man of the rude laughter yelled. “What is wrong with you?”

“Do not disrespect me again,” the other man growled low and dangerous. “I will find this girl of the Sun People. Did I not say these Sister Wolf people would meet up with the last of the Sun People? And, here we are. This camp is for the last of the Sun People. No others survived the fighting in that camp near the fort, so she has to be here, somewhere.”

“All right! I believe you. Now, will you get that knife outta my face?”

“Just do as I tell you. We do not want these people to know we hunt one of their own. We might not get outta here with....”

Golden Fox could hear no more, as the men moved farther away.

Sky Bird hurried over to Golden Fox and tossed a robe around her head and shoulders. “Come! Hurry!” She urged Golden Fox to her feet and then rushed her to the lodge that had been for the injured ones. No one lay on the robes any longer, and they had meant to take the lodge down to prepare it for traveling when Father Sun rose again, but with so much going on, she had let it wait for one more sunrise.

As they darted in and closed the flap, Sky Bird whispered, “I wonder if perhaps the Spirits kept me too busy to take the lodge down.”

“Who are they, Mother?” Golden Fox’s whisper held fear and worry. “Where did they come from?”

Her mother put her mouth close to Golden Fox’s ear. “I do not know, but we will find out. Stay here in the lodge while I go and speak to your grandfather.”

“No!” Golden Fox clutched tight to her mother’s arm. “They will see your hair and know I am here.”

“I will keep this robe over my hair. It will appear to others as if I am one of those who are still sick and shiver even on the warmest night.” Sky Bird slipped out of the lodge flap.

Alone in the lodge, worry rose like the waters of a river in the wet season. Golden Fox hugged Blue Spirit Dog tight to her as she waited.

Father Sun had dipped far below the edge of the land by the time her mother returned. Dances In Storms and Eagle Thunder followed her through the flap.

Dances In Storms rushed over to Golden Fox. “Are you all right?”

Trying to stop the chatter of her teeth, she hugged Blue Spirit Dog tighter, but unlike with the cold, he could not warm away the shaking from fear. “Do... do you know who... who these men are?”

Sky Bird handed Golden Fox a bowl of hot broth. “Drink. I have put in herbs that will help calm you.”

She cradled the bowl between both hands and sipped the broth. The heat glided down her throat and into her cramped stomach. After a few sips, her stomach began to unknot. Eagle Thunder sat so close that the knee of his crossed legs touched her knee, and the touch calmed her as much as her mother’s broth.

“You know who these men are?” The sternness in Eagle Thunder’s voice said how unhappy he was that Dances In Storms had not told him of these men.

“I’m sorry, Eagle Thunder. I meant to tell you, but....” She spread her hands, palms up. “These men joined my band a sunrise after Stands His Ground ate at my fire. I could feel the evil that wrapped them, in the way we wrap ourselves in a winter robe. After much discussion, Floating Cloud and I thought it best to let them travel with our people until we could find out what or who they hunted.”

Anger made Sky Bird sit stiffly upright. “How long have you known they hunted my daughter?”

Dances in Storms stabbed a finger toward the ground and said, “This night is the first that I have known who they hunted. Just before you came to get me, White Elk sat at my fire and told me about the men.”

“What does White Elk have to do with these men?” Golden Fox startled so hard she nearly spilled the rest of the broth on Blue Spirit Dog, still draped across her lap.

“When the men joined us, White Elk said he would get them to trust him and find out what harm these men meant to do. As we waited to meet up with Eagle Thunder’s people, White Elk acted as a friend to these men. They bragged of much knowledge of the Sun People, and even told how the Sun People had fought among themselves, and how many had died at the hands of their relatives. The sunrise after the fight between the traders and the Sun People, hairy-faces rode from the camp the traders had come from. In revenge for the deaths of the traders, these hairy-faces killed any of the Sun People who had not died. It is a good thing no children were there.”

Disgust twisted Dances In Storms face. “White Elk found out that these two men rode with those who killed the last of the Sun People. We did not chase them from us because we still needed to know who they hunted. As Father Sun dipped below the tops of the trees, White Elk came to me. The men had offered him some of the firewater they would get when they took the girl with gold-red hair back to her hairy-face father, if he helped to find her. White Elk wanted to kill these men.” She looked deep into Eagle Thunder’s eyes. “It is not my people’s decision to take or not to take the lives of these men. It is your decision. We will help you with whatever you decide to do.”

Eagle Thunder lowered his head as a tear escaped down his face. “All those who remained.”

***

Fretfully, Golden Fox shoved a strand of hair from her face. “Are those men ever going to leave?” She glanced around, the leather cover still hiding her hair. “Why does my hairy-face father want me?” Her anguished words burst out. “He threw us away when I was very young! He shamed you and called me ugly! Why does he hunt me now?”

Eagle Thunder stretched out in the warm sun beside their lodge, his hands under his head. “Girl, I hope we never find out, but know that no one will take you from us.”

Sky Bird did not glance up from the deerskin tunic she sewed, with tiny stitches to make it more waterproof. She pointed her chin at the unfinished basket lying in Golden Fox’s lap. “Work on the basket, and worry will not sit so heavy on your shoulders.”

Too restless to follow her mother’s advice, she set the basket aside and stood. As she drifted around the lodge, touching the bundles of plants hung for drying, thoughts of White Elk brought that tingly feeling to her body. “Mother, do you think White Elk is good to look at?”

Her mother glanced up. “Daughter, your thoughts are everywhere. You need to focus on making your basket for our new people.” Sky Bird laid her work on her lap. “The inside of a man is more important than the outside. Do you care that White Elk’s hair and eyes are so strange?”

“I... I found him strange when I turned and first saw him, but....” She flopped down onto the robe across from her mother. “He is easy to talk to, and... he sees me—really sees me.”

“Like you see beyond the outside of White Elk, if he is the kind of man to spend your life with, then he will see beyond the outside of you.” Sky Bird picked up her work. “Though he would be a blind fool to not see how good the outside of you is, also.”

“Mother!”

With a tiny lift of her shoulders, her mother shrugged away Golden Fox’s weak protest. “What? Is it not good for a mother to tell her daughter that she is beautiful?” Her hands sewed the tiny stitches Golden Fox had never had the patience to sew. “Just remember, he has not sat with your grandfather and he has not eaten at our fire.”

Fire flashed in Golden Fox’s eyes. “Grandfather said it is my choice who I take as my mate.”

“Hmm! It may be your choice who you take as your mate, but no matter who it is, he will need to sit with your grandfather, and he will need to eat at our fire, if he hopes to be part of our family. There are some old ways that are good to keep.”

Eagle Thunder chuckled.

***

By the time White Elk led the half-blood men who hunted her out of camp, Father Sun had lowered “White Elk has taken the men into the darkness,” Blazing Fire said.

Carefully, Sky Bird folded the tunic she worked on, stood, and stretched. “Why did they wait until Father Sun's time to rest?”

Lip curled in contempt, Blazing Fire shook her head. “During the light, the men drank from hidden flasks of poisoned water. It was long after Father Sun peeked above the land before they woke. White Elk waited at their cooking fire while the men groaned and cursed and drank even more poison. The men became stupid, and more so as the light faded.” Blazing Fire stood. “If no trouble comes to us, we will wait here.”

***

For five sunrises, Golden Fox climbed to the top of the small hill and sang Father Sun up. Father Sun had risen for the sixth time before White Elk returned with three mustangs on lead ropes behind him.

Children ran to him and argued over who would rub down Runner.

White Elk hushed them and pointed toward a girl of no more than ten winters. “Girl Who Does Not Speak, will you look after my mustangs?” When the child nodded, he handed her the lead ropes. “If you find any of these others who know how to listen, you may have them help you—if you choose.” He gave a hard stare at the gathered children. “Whoever you pick for this honor must listen to you, and do only as you say.”

As the children clamored to be chosen, White Elk strode toward Sky Bird’s cooking fire.

Golden Fox smiled at him. “I saw you ride in, and watched you with the children. It was kind of you to choose Girl Who Does Not Speak to care for your mustangs.”

Light red touched his cheeks and he looked away. “I have watched her. She may not speak with her voice, but she speaks well with the animals.”

Eagle Thunder waved toward a place on the robe across the fire circle from him. “White Elk, come, sit, and eat. Father Sun has almost reached the edge of the land. You must hunger.”

Golden Fox handed a bowl of food to Eagle Thunder, and then another to Sky Bird. After serving the elders, she dipped up a bowl of food for White Elk. Before she could hand it to him, Dances In Storms walked over and lowered herself onto the robe next to him.

Why does Dances In Storms sit so close to White Elk? He has traveled with them. Does she want him for her man? I did not think a Holy Woman took a man. Holy Men take a woman, so why is it a Holy Woman cannot take a man?

She pushed the uncomfortable thoughts aside and handed the bowl of food to Dances In Storms before again dipping food for White Elk, and then herself. Bowl in hand, she sat on the robe beside her mother.

No one spoke of the men until White Elk finished his food. By the time he set his bowl aside, Stands His Ground, Blazing Fire, and Floating Cloud also sat around Sky Bird’s fire circle.

Eagle Thunder motioned with a dip of his head toward White Elk that the young man should speak.

“The time between the sunrise when we left,” he said, “and when Father Sun drops behind the edge of the land, we did not make it far. The men—Luke and Adam—all during the time of light, cried and moaned as not even the youngest baby of our people would do. They drank more poisoned water after Father Sun left the sky, and I feared we would make no distance the next sunrise. Maybe they did not drink as much, because the next sunrise we rode over much grassland and some hills. After the third sunrise of hard riding, I led them to where I did not think they could find their way back to this camp.”

Humor danced in White Elk’s eyes. “After we ate meat I had gotten for us, I told them we were very close to where the gold-red haired girl now lived, and that we should have a drink to show our happiness. We sat around the campfire until Sister Moon gave up and hid behind a hill. They drank one flask of poisoned water, and I encouraged them to bring out another flask. I do not know how many flasks they drank before they fell into the sleep of the poisoned water.”

“Did they not demand that you drink with them?” Sky Bird’s voice held many more questions than the words asked. She picked at her dress as she waited to hear the answer.

White teeth showing in the broad smile, White Elk made a puckered face like a person who had tasted something that is no longer good enough to eat. “It was good that they did not want to share the poisoned water, and only did so a few times. At those times, I held the flask to my lips and made throat motions as though I drank, but I never opened my lips. They thought my way of drinking very funny, and even more funny when I wiped my lips on my tunic after I drank.” He flashed a look at Golden Fox. “I did not want poisoned water on my lips for even a short span.”

She dropped her eyes when he caught her looking at him, but not before he winked at her. Heat ran up her neck and she hoped it did not stain her cheeks, or Blazing Fire would never let her forget.

White Elk returned his attention to Eagle Thunder. “They are half-blood brothers with two different mothers. They grew up at the wooden fort with their father. He drank much and beat them much. When they became men, they left the fort. Sometimes, they go back to get more poisoned water, but they live in a wooden lodge a short distance from the fort. They have much to drink. It will take many sunrises to find their way home.”

“Did they say why my hairy-face father wanted me?” Golden Fox caught her lip between her teeth as she waited to hear.

“Your father has no relations. Not many moons ago, his white woman went back across the salty waters, and she took his only other child—a boy. They say he tires of living among his own kind and wishes to live a different way. He thinks if he had you, you would help him find this different way.”

Scowling, Sky Bird huffed out a breath. “Perhaps, he tires of working and wishes to sell my daughter to the pale men every night. They do not care about their girl children, except to sell or trade them. When I lived among the whites, every sunrise I would see women of the People stumble to their lodges after sleeping the darkness with whoever their man had sold them to. Other whites sold women to clean men’s lodges and cook.” Anger poured from every part of Sky Bird’s body. “While I lived among them, I saw women not only of the Peoples, but women with skin as dark as Raven’s wing. Those women were treated even worse than women of the Peoples.”

Pain flickered across Dances In Storms’ face. “Yes, I know of what you speak. My... my older sister began drinking poisoned water and went to live at the wooden fort. Three moons passed when a pale man, who was a friend of my father’s, came and told us that my sister’s man sold her every sunset to men of the fort.”

Tears filled her eyes, but she blinked them away. “My father, my mother, and I went to the fort to bring my sister home. We begged her to come with us, yet she refused. The poisoned water had blackened her Spirit. She attacked my mother. Still, my father and I tried to talk to her. It was no use. We had to abandon her at the wooden fort when her pale man brought many of his brothers. They threatened to hurt my father if we did not leave.”

Sky Bird got up and walked over to Dances In Storms. She sat next to her and looped an arm around the other woman’s shoulders. “What happened to your sister, Dances In Storms?”

“Five moons after that, a trader came to our camp. My father only traded with certain pale ones who did not trade their poisoned water to our people. The trader brought news of my sister’s death. A hairy-face with too much poisoned water in his belly beat her to death. My sister’s hairy-face man buried her in the ground, as is the way of his people. He did not even respect her enough to bring her home or, at least, to wrap her in her robe and lay her in a strong tree, so her Spirit could see when Eagle Woman came for her. All I can do is hope her body died only, and not her Spirit.”

With nothing else to say about the men, everyone headed to their sleeping robes. Since even the sickest ones had healed enough to travel, they planned to move camp now that White Elk had returned.

***

Golden Fox woke to the chirping of birds. She stretched, got to her feet, and rolled up her sleeping robe. This would be her last time to greet Father Sun from her special hill. Quietly, she hurried out of camp and sat cross-legged among the tall grasses, gazing out toward the distant hills. They looked purple, and she wondered if they really were that color.

Did the Sister Wolf Band live close to those tall hills?

If they did, perhaps one day she would ride over and see if the hills were really purple.

Something rustled in the grasses behind her. She sat very still and listened hard—too heavy and too noisy to be an animal. Hand on her knife, she leapt to her feet, whirled, and pulled the knife from its sheath.

White Elk threw his hands in the air. “Aiiee! Do not use your knife on me, Golden Fox.”

“Why do you come here where I greet Father Sun? Has your mother taught you no manners?” She sheathed her knife and sat.

Feet shuffling, White Elk walked closer. “May I sit beside you?”

His voice chased pleasant shivers down her back. Trying not to show how his presence warmed her, she grunted, “If you must.”

He eased down and stared out at the distant hills. No sound crossed his lips.

At last, Golden Fox twisted her head to one side. “I am sorry that I spoke harshly.”

A smile tugged the corners of White Elk’s full lips as he faced her. “You are right to be angry. I know it is not polite to disturb another when they greet Father Sun. I....” His words fell silent and he looked away from her. “I worry when you are alone. White men could be close.”

“Blazing Fire has taught me to take care of myself. It is not your place to worry about me.” She turned away from him.

Long fingers wrapped around her hand. “It is my place to worry, Sweet One. Someday, you will be my mate.”

She moved her hand away and stood. “I must be the one who chooses.” She stormed back toward the camp.

Camp was nearly ready to move. The two lodges for the sick and the injured were tied to drags behind mustangs. Dogs waited patiently as the drags behind them were filled with the people’s belongings. Even the smallest child worked.

Golden Fox hurried over to her mother and helped to pack the last robes on their drag.

It is perhaps good that the fire took much of what we had. We do not have so much for our animals to pull.

Before Father Sun peered over the tops of the trees, the Peoples moved out. As they crested the hill above the camp, Golden Fox stopped and stared back, noticing that White Elk stood close. Below her, not one stone from the fire circles remained; only the crushed grasses told of the encampment that had once been there.

Do they move so fast because of me? Have I become a burden on my people?

As Father Sun traveled across the pale blue sky, the people traveled, too.

White Elk walked beside Golden Fox, and she did not chase him away. His presence filled an empty place in her.

When Father Sun dropped lower toward the edge of the land, Eagle Thunder and Dances In Storms called a halt.

The weakest of the elders, and those still gaining strength from the poisoned water sickness, were placed near the first fire circle. A young girl prepared a pot of broth for the elders and the sick, while the rest of the people set up camp. Soon, other fire circles blazed with small fires, and women cooked. The men looked after the mustangs, and made the grasses flat so no snakes hid, and so that all the sleeping robes would lay in a way that was comfortable.

By the time camp was set up, the mustangs rubbed down, and food cooked, Father Sun had dipped behind the edge of the land.

After eating and helping her mother with the elders and those still not quite healed, Golden Fox wandered a short distance away from the noise of the camp. Sister Moon hid part of her face, peering down on the Mother with a lop-sided grin.

Behind her, the soft voices of Eagle Thunder and White Elk rose and floated toward the campfires in the sky. Now and then, Sky Bird’s higher-pitched voice would murmur a few words before falling back into silence.

It would be good to get Grandfather’s blessing to have White Elk walk next to me.

A happiness grew in her chest and chased away some of the sharp ache from leaving Running Girl behind in the trees. Even the thought of her sister-friend brought tears to her eyes. Her heart ached for Strong Knife and his little brother, Little Knife. Perhaps on this journey, one of the women among Dances In Storms’ people would smile at Strong Knife.

A wolf howled from some distance. The sound reached inside Golden Fox and called to her. Restless, she returned to camp.

White Elk had already left to sleep with the men who had no women.

***

As the bands traveled, after their morning meal, White Elk walked next to Golden Fox.

After Father Sun dropped behind the hills, White Elk came to sit beside their fire to speak to her grandfather.

Sky Bird pulled Golden Fox away to gather wood so the men could visit.

From the darkness forward, White Elk refused to be far from Golden Fox’s side, and her grandfather smiled when he thought she did not see, but White Elk refused to say what words her grandfather had spoken to him.

Stands His Ground and her mother gave knowing looks to each other as White Elk sat near Golden Fox, as the campfires in the sky shone.

She tried to ignore the carrying-on of her elders, though her cheeks often heated beneath their gazes.

***

Blazing Fire, even as she took her turn watching the people, never went far from Golden Fox. Hope of Golden Fox becoming a warrior woman stayed with Blazing Fire. The young woman had much courage, and often the two sparred away from camp. Golden Fox’s ability to rapid fire her bow, and jump from a mustang and wrestle her to the ground, even if she allowed her to win, showed much promise.

This albino man might change everything.

***

As sunrises followed sunsets, the grasslands slowly folded into hills. These hills stood higher than any Golden Fox had ever seen. Eagle Thunder and Dances In Storms let the bands stop in a valley that wound beside one of the steepest hills. The shorter, thinner grasses of this land prickled against bare skin and exposed the light, orange-red flesh of the Mother. Stones jutted from beneath the thin skin of the land. Rough, grey boulders thrust up among dark-green trees with long needles that dotted the hillside. Here and there, rainbow robes of flowers—pink and snow white, brilliant red and deep yellow—blanketed the gentler slopes. Trees, with shrubs crowding beside them, grew along the river.

White Elk waved in the direction they traveled. “I am glad to be gone from the hunting camp where Stands His Ground first met us. We go to Dances In Storms’ home with much dried humpback meat. The people will be glad to see us.”

“What is Dances In Storms’ home like?” Golden Fox scooped up pebbles and tossed them into the river.

Excitement shone in his now-pale-blue eyes as he pointed. “See those purple spikes that rise so high that some of their tips are hidden in the clouds?”

“Yes, I had wondered about them.”

“They are mountains higher than anywhere else. In places, their sides are very steep. There are animals with small feet that leap along those rocky sides, going where even the best climber cannot go. Hidden by these walls and the jagged flesh of the land, canyons lie. Canyons are like valleys but with steeper sides, and more narrow. At the bottom of some canyons is nothing except red dirt, while in other canyons grow trees and plants you can find nowhere else.

“In the canyon where Dances In Storms’ people live, a river of clear, cold water runs from the mountains above us. The water is so cold that, even in the hot season, a person cannot stay in it for more than a short span, or their lips become blue and their teeth chatter. Deer and elk and many small animals share the canyon with us.”

Golden Fox felt her eyes grow wide as she stared at him. “These high walls, what do they look like?”

Eyes sparkling, White Elk’s smile grew wider. “The flesh of the Mother that makes these walls has bands of many colors—grays and yellows, browns and reds. Sunsets can paint parts of that flesh, to make them as red as the muscle beneath an animal’s skin. One time, I rode to the top of a high place and looked down. Spread out as far as my eyes could see, many canyons twisted and turned between the walls—like a nest of snakes racing between large and small rocks scattered on a flat land.”

White Elk’s voice became dreamy. “The sunsets have yellows so brilliant that to look at it hurts the eyes, and reds as shiny as new blood streak the sky. A light purple blends with a pale blue as Father Sun grows tired. When clouds hang above the canyons, blues and purples of many shades paint them. No sunset is like any other sunset.” His eyes dropped to hers and his brows wrinkled. “Why do you look as if there is something frightening you, Golden Fox? Have my words painted a picture that scares you?”

She licked her lips and opened her mouth several times before she could push the words from behind her teeth. “I... I dreamed of such a place as this, White Elk. Ever since I was but a few summers old, I have had these dreams. They made my heart restless with wanting to travel. And now, I travel toward the lands in my dreams. What does this mean?”

He looped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her close. “I do not know, Golden Fox. In the sunrises ahead, I will walk beside you as you find what this means.”

With her head lying on his muscled chest, Golden Fox’s heart beat faster, but not from fear. She had never felt this way about any of the boys she grew up around, or any she had met when the Sun People would visit their relations in other bands.

Sky Bird cleared her throat as she approached from behind the pair.

Golden Fox’s face burned as she moved away from White Elk.

Her mother came and stood next to her. “White Elk, when Father said we would go toward the great blue-purple mountains, I had some worry. I had heard that much snow fell there in the cold season, enough that a grown man could lose his way in it. Do the canyons where Dances In Storms’ people live have such snows?”

With a frown, White Elk shook his head. “There is snow in the cold season, but it is not so bad.”

Sky Bird nodded and humor danced in her eyes. “It is good that White Elk was only telling you, Golden Fox, about this new land where we will live.” She headed toward camp, calling back over her shoulder. “It is time to eat before Father Sun hides behind the edge of the land.”

Heat reddened White Elk’s cheeks.

Golden Fox felt her own face burn hotter. “We had better hurry. Grandfather does not like to be kept waiting.”

***

Two sunrises had passed since White Elk spoke of the canyons. Although he continued to walk beside Golden Fox as they traveled, her mother kept her busy with small tasks whenever they stopped for the dark time. There had been no more time to speak with him alone.

Father Sun had barely climbed from behind the land’s edge as the people prepared to travel again. Golden Fox went to the herd to get her mustang. When Blue Spirit Dog walked with her, she stopped and stared at the animal. “You do not need to go with me, Blue Spirit Dog. I know my way to the herd.”

Blue Spirit Dog nudged her hand and whined low in her throat, a sad sound.

With a shake of her head, Golden Fox shrugged and continued to the herd. Her old female that she never rode, but still cared for, had lain down in the midst of the mustangs. Stomach knotted all of a sudden, she made her way to the animal, knelt beside her, and stroked her muzzle. “It is time to walk again, my old friend.”

The female grunted and tried to stand, but soon gave up and settled more comfortably on the short grass. Tears filled Golden Fox’s eyes as she pulled a handful of grass and offered it, and the mustang turned her head away. She settled cross-legged beside the animal.

Blue Spirit Dog licked the mustang’s muzzle and gave her a gentle nudge before lying next to the old animal.

As others came and called their mustangs away, several of the animals walked over and breathed into the old one’s nostrils. Golden Fox kept singing as the mustangs said goodbye to one of their own. The shuffle of many feet on the dry grasses and the laughter of children told her when the people started away from the camp. She did not stop singing as she stroked the old female.

With a sigh, the mustang laid her head on Golden Fox’s lap and stared up with one dark eye. Behind them, quiet voices blended with Golden Fox’s song. At last, the old female closed her eye and breathed no more. Gently, she laid the mustang’s head on the ground, kissed her face, and stood. “Rest well, my friend.” Tears streamed from her eyes as she turned.

White Elk put an arm around her shoulder and led her away. Dances In Storms, Sky Bird, and Eagle Thunder followed silently behind the pair. Their mustangs followed along. When they had gone a short distance, Dances In Storms, Sky Bird, and Eagle Thunder jumped on their animals.

Golden Fox stepped toward her mother to ride behind her.

With a light hand on her shoulder, White Elk pulled her to a stop and handed her the nose rope of a tan and black female. “She has not told me her name, yet. She is young and untaught. I have had no time to teach her to listen without a nose rope. Though the nose rope does not harm her, she fights against it. I do not blame her, for there are many scars around her mouth where the iron piece tore her flesh.”

“I cannot take this mustang.” Golden Fox thrust the rope toward him.

Head tilted to one side, White Elk refused the rope. “There is no meanness in her, only a need for kindness and someone to talk to her. If you do not want to do this, I understand. It is hard to go from such a smart and kind animal as your old mustang to one who knows nothing. If this is how you feel, choose another of my mustangs. Only Runner cannot be chosen.”

Head shaking strongly, Golden Fox tried to give him the rope, again. “A mustang is an important gift, not one that a man should lightly give to a woman without much talk between them.”

Bright red spots appeared on his cheeks as he scuffed a toe against the grass. “What if we needed to get away in a hurry? A mustang carrying two women could not run fast.”

Black stripes circled the animal’s legs all the way up to her knees. Tan and black hairs flowed down the mustang’s neck and tail. “She is beautiful and her eye is kind, but....” Golden Fox’s voice drifted away.

Face set in stern lines, White Elk drew himself up tall. “I said I would not allow harm to come to you. I know this is a gift a man gives to his woman, and that we have not yet spoken of such things, but it does not matter. I said I would keep you safe, and a man keeps his word. I cannot do this if you ride a mustang that is too slow.”

He reached out and laid his hand upon her arm. His eyes studied her face. “I have long dreamed of you, Sweet One. I am willing to wait until the time is right to talk of many things, but I tell you this: if you do not ever dream of me as I have dreamed of you, I will accept that. This gift does not tie you to me. It is only the gift of a man who would be a friend to you.” He spun on his heel, walked over to his animal, and leapt up.

Sky Bird tapped her heels against her mustang’s sides and the animal started away at a slow walk. “Daughter, you had best get on your mustang. The others wait for us.”

***

Sister Wind blew a cooling breeze, causing the leaves on the trees by the river to shush together. Hunters from both bands readied nets to catch the black-speckled fish with the shiny purple and blue-green stripes running down their sides, which leapt out of the water and splashed back down.

After Father Sun slept for the night, White Elk sat beside Sky Bird’s fire circle with Golden Fox. Eagle Thunder and Sky Bird had gone to visit some others in camp. Though alone at the fire, many eyes from the people flicked toward the young pair, reminding them to conduct themselves properly.

Blazing Fire swung by their fire circle and squatted for a short span, then headed out to guard the camp with the other warriors.

White Elk’s eyes followed her as she faded into the darkness. “Among the People I come from, few women learn the ways of fighting, yet Blazing Fire trains several young girls, as well as the young boys, in the ways of war. Even you spar with her. It is the same with the Sister Wolf Band. If a young girl wishes to learn the ways of fighting, she is taught along with the boys.”

Golden Fox stared up at the brightest campfires in the sky. “Traders have brought stories of people like yours, who are like this—treat women as if they own them. We find it strange that any Peoples would do this to their mothers, sisters, and aunts.”

He broke a twig into small pieces, threw them into the fire, and shrugged. “We believe that women are more important than men. We do not wish to put them in such danger. They carry the children of the People. Without enough women, our people would be no more. Besides, women not only harvest foods from the land, and prepare the hides they use to make our clothes, they also build the places where we live. A woman should not have to be a warrior, too.”

Lips pursed in thought, Golden Fox studied White Elk. “What if they choose to be a warrior or a hunter?”

White Elk only shrugged and remained silent.

“Among our Peoples, few choose such a hard life, but we have had women warriors who fight more fiercely than men. Some choose to never take a man, but live with honor in her parents’ lodge, hunting for them and doing the work that her man would have done for his woman’s parents. Some are even called to become medicine women, great healers. These women do not take a man, but live alone, honored above even a great warrior. All of the People take care of her parents. Such women are fewer even than those who choose a warrior’s or a hunter’s life.”

Golden Fox grasped his arm and pointed upward. “Look! A campfire falls from the sky! Mother says when a campfire falls, it means someone’s Spirit has chosen to return to our Mother, to be born as a helpless little one, so they can grow up to help their People. Perhaps, even more than one Spirit will return. No one knows how many share each campfire in the sky.”

White Elk took her hand between his. “Sweet One, your eyes sparkle. I wish to always sit next to you at our fire circle.”

The breath caught in her chest. She had to look away from him. Gently, she pulled her hand loose.

He asked in a brisk voice, “What have you named your mustang?”

She rubbed her hands up and down her arms to chase the bumps away, and smiled. “Splash. I call her Splash for the tan and black that comes together as fingers woven across her chest.”

***

The quiet voices of her grandfather and her mother woke Golden Fox before Father Sun had drawn a golden line along the edge of the land.

“She is but a baby! I will not have my daughter—”

The rumble of Grandfather’s voice interrupted Sky Bird. “You were only two cycles of seasons older than your daughter when you rode with your three-winters-old daughter in front of you and returned to the Sun People. You rode an old grey mustang, which had many scars from the hairy-faces and could hardly walk so far.”

Golden Fox peeked toward Grandfather and Mother. She did not stare at them, but peered a bit to one side, so that the weight of her eyes would not tell them she watched. Never had her mother told her this story.

Arms crossed, Sky Bird grunted. “I could not leave the old female. She had become my friend—the only one I had in that terrible place.”

A chuckle spilled from Eagle Thunder. “If our Holy Man had not dreamed of Golden Fox and you, Bear might have liked a taste of a baby girl and her mother.”

“Father! I was a grown woman and had a good knife.”

“Bear would have laughed at a knife whose blade was no longer than his claw.” More chuckles rolled from Grandfather. “His laughter would have caught the attention of Mountain Lion. When Mountain Lion came, she and Bear would have fought over such tender meat. While they fought, Wolf would have come and carried you both to her den to feed her pups.”

By this time, both Eagle Thunder and Sky Bird laughed hard.

“Enough, Father!” Sky Bird gasped and wiped at the happy tears in her eyes. “Father Sun will be awake soon and we have much to do. Dances In Storms wishes to give the people a rest this day. We will speak of this another time.”